The following are only a sample of the past successes of the AXON team:
Fiber optic shape sensing for feedback and control of surgical robots
Addressable Market: Addressed market of well over $3 billion annually (with Intuitive Surgical as the dominant supplier). The specific need of market was the ability to determine three-dimensional shape via robotic arms and flexible devices along their entire length in order to provide feedback and more accurate control of the robot.
World-Class Experts: Assembled team of experts in optical frequency domain reflectometry from The University of Rochester, Virginia Tech, former Bell Labs, and Northrop Grumman. These experts had deep experience in building optoelectronic instruments.
License and Develop Technology and IP: We licensed the main technology for the optical frequency domain reflectometry from NASA. Other technologies required to build the solution were licensed from NRL, Untied Technologies, and Coherent Lasers. We continued to file for improvements to existing patents, and for the full integration of the solution and applications.
Resources to Build Product: Capital came from company principal, two SBIRs, a small amount of venture capital, and proceeds from an IPO. Our access to the addressable market was via Intuitive Surgical, a Fortune 500 company that is the world’s largest maker of surgical robots.
Exit for Stakeholders: The product lines and company were sold to Intuitive Surgical (ISRG). There is now a division of a Fortune 500 Company, Intuitive Surgical, in Blacksburg, Virginia because part of the negotiation included keeping the employees there.
Proprietary SCADA systems for remote asset monitoring
Addressable Market: The total addressable market was over $1 billion annually with Honeywell, BorgWarner, Dover, and United Technologies being the main players. The market need was to access proprietary data and to control remote assets. The principal application was for remotely controlling individual oil wells to account for the real-time price of oil, the power used to pump, the amount of oil versus water being pumped, and many others individual factors that determine profitability.
World-Class Experts: Assembled team of experts consisting of former ITT professionals, military LAN experts, and former JDSU and Northrop Grumman electronic experts.
License and Develop Technology and IP: We licensed the technology for the sensors from NASA. Other technologies required to build the network were developed in-house. We filed for patents for improvements to existing patents, patents for the full integration of the solution, and patents for the applications.
Resources to Build Product: The founders invested the initial funding and were followed by additional funding from Honeywell. Our access to the addressable market was through multiple Fortune 500 companies in the market space.
Exit for Stakeholders: The product lines and company were sold to Dover Instruments. Part of the negotiation included keeping the employees in Roanoke, Virginia. There is now a division of a multi-billion dollar European company, Dover Instruments (Ferguson Beauregard division), in Roanoke, Virginia.
Sensors to make oil and gas wells more productive and energy efficient
Addressable Market: The total addressable market was over $1 billion annually with Halliburton, Schlumberger, and Baker Hughes as the top three suppliers. The market need was prompted by increasingly deep oil and gas wells. As a result of the deeper depths, the temperatures and pressures were increasing, in turn causing a harsh environment where conventional sensors and instrumentation were unable to survive. Sensor and instrument replacement costs (including well shut downs) were several hundred thousand dollars. Sensors and instrumentation able to survive and operate in these harsh environments were needed.
World-Class Experts: Assembled team of experts in sensor and instrumentation, including former ITT, Virginia Tech, Bell Labs, and Baker Hughes experts in optoelectronic instruments.
License and Develop Technology and IP: We licensed the technology for the instrumentation from Virginia Tech and for the technology for the sensor materials from NASA. Other technologies required to build the solution were developed in-house. We filed for patents for improvements to existing patents, patents for the full integration of the solution, and patents for the applications.
Resources to Build Product: We won several SBIRs to develop harsh environment sensors. A small initial investment by Baker Hughes was also augmented with some internal investments. Access to market needs was from all three of the top oil tool makers -- Halliburton, Schlumberger, and Baker Hughes.
Exit for Stakeholders: The product lines and company were sold to Baker Hughes. Part of the negotiation included keeping the employees in Blacksburg, Virginia. There is now a division of a Fortune 300 Company, Baker Hughes, in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Cyber security tools for supply chain verification
Addressable Market: The total addressable integrated circuits market was several hundred millions dollars in size with Altera and Xilinx being the leading suppliers. The identified market need was the ability to determine whether silicon chips had additional capabilities beyond original specifications. That is, could anyone, including the designer, manufacturer, or installer, insert additional capability into a chip that could be used to shut down the power grid, cause aircraft to lose control, disrupt communications, or cause critical infrastructure applications to malfunction.
World-Class Experts: Assembled team of experts from Xilinx and Virginia Tech, including the inventors.
License and Develop Technology and IP: We licensed the main technology from Virginia Tech. We filed for patents for improvements to existing patents, patents for the full integration of the solution, and patents for the applications.
Resources to Build Product: We received DARPA funding of up to $10 million per year and used proceeds from an IPO. Our access to the addressable market was through both Altera and Xilinx.
Exit for Stakeholders: The product lines and company were sold to Macaulay Brown (MacB). Part of the negotiation included keeping the employees in Roanoke, Virginia. There is now a division of a mid-tier cyber security company, MacB, in Roanoke, Virginia.